search aussie childcare network
search aussie childcare network

Childcare Articles

  • Detail View
  • List View
Understanding Your New Classification Level in the Children’s Services Award From 2026

Understanding Your New Classification Level in the Children’s Services Award From 2026 New!

From 2026, every educator covered by the Children’s Services Award will move into a new, simplified classification structure. Instead of navigating 30 different levels, educators will transition into one of eight new Children's Services Employee (CSE) levels based on their…
Play with Purpose: Designing Provocations that Spark Curiosity

Play with Purpose: Designing Provocations that Spark Curiosity New!

Provocations are not displays. They are not Pinterest‑perfect tableaus or aesthetic arrangements designed to impress adults. At their core, provocations are intentional invitations, carefully curated materials that nudge children toward exploration, questioning, and meaning‑making. When we design with purpose, we…
Messy Play, Big Learning: Why Sensory Experiences Matter

Messy Play, Big Learning: Why Sensory Experiences Matter New!

When children dig, pour, smear, splash, squeeze, and explore, they’re not “making a mess.” They’re building the neural architecture that supports language, self-regulation, creativity, and problem‑solving. Sensory experiences are one of the most powerful, developmentally aligned ways children make sense…
Don’t Stand Back, Step In

Don’t Stand Back, Step In New!

In early childhood education, we talk endlessly about teamwork, collaboration, and shared responsibility. But when the pressure hits, when a child is dysregulated, when an educator is overwhelmed, when the room feels like it’s tipping, the real test of teamwork…
OPINION: We Don’t Need 200 Photos to Prove We’re Educators

OPINION: We Don’t Need 200 Photos to Prove We’re Educators New!

Somewhere along the way, our sector slipped into a strange belief: if we don’t take hundreds of photos a week, we’re not doing our job. But here’s the truth that many educators whisper quietly, often only to each other: We…
When the Bitching Gets Loud: How Educators Can Protect Their Energy

When the Bitching Gets Loud: How Educators Can Protect Their Energy New!

A practical, sector‑savvy guide for early childhood educators on understanding, navigating, and reducing workplace gossip (“bitching”). Includes examples, reflection prompts, and strategies to protect your energy and rebuild respectful team culture. Gossip. Side comments. Whisper networks. The “Did you hear…
30 Creative Sustainability Ideas For Early Childhood Services

30 Creative Sustainability Ideas For Early Childhood Services New!

A practical guide filled with creative, meaningful sustainability ideas for early childhood services. Explore simple, engaging ways to embed environmental responsibility into daily practice, play, and curriculum. Sustainability in early childhood isn’t just about recycling bins and worm farms—it’s about…
Navigating Family Requests to Opt Out of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learning: A Practical Guide for Educators

Navigating Family Requests to Opt Out of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learning: A Practical Guide for Educators New!

In early childhood education, we work at the intersection of family values, children’s rights, and professional obligations. Most days, these elements align beautifully. But sometimes, they collide, and one of the most challenging situations arises when a family requests that…
How to Support Children’s Sense of Agency

How to Support Children’s Sense of Agency New!

Children are not passive recipients of care. From birth, they express preferences, make decisions, and influence their world. In early childhood education, agency is both a right and a developmental necessity. EYLF positions the agency as central to Outcome 1:…
Responding to Family Concerns About Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learning

Responding to Family Concerns About Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learning New!

Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives is a core part of high‑quality early childhood education. But occasionally, families may express uncertainty or request that their child not participate in these experiences. This is a practical guide for early childhood…
The Role of a WHS Officer in an Early Childhood Service

The Role of a WHS Officer in an Early Childhood Service New!

Work Health and Safety (WHS) is a core pillar of quality practice in early childhood education and care. With children, families, educators, and visitors moving through the environment every day, services must maintain safe, well‑managed spaces and strong risk‑prevention systems.…
Opinion: When Routine ACECQA Posts Collide With Sector Frustration

Opinion: When Routine ACECQA Posts Collide With Sector Frustration New!

In early childhood education, timing shapes interpretation. A message that would normally pass quietly through the sector can suddenly feel loaded when educators are already carrying frustration, fatigue, and a sense of being unheard. That’s exactly what happened when ACECQA…
Child Care Documentation App

© 2009-2025 Aussie Childcare Network Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.